


Wendigo

by DaydreamDestiel



Series: Supernatural, Starring You [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Eventual Dean/Reader, F/M, Hints at Dean/Reader, Reader Insert, you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 06:46:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5957620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamDestiel/pseuds/DaydreamDestiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picking up where the pilot left off, Dean has just dragged Sam out of the burning apartment, and you are faced with a traumatized Sam, and no leads on whatever killed Jessica. With nothing but the coordinates John left Sam & Dean to go on, you head to Blackwater Ridge, hoping to find John and figure out what in the hell's going on. </p>
<p>Rated M, basically for eventual Dean/Reader in later works.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What if Bobby's wife hadn't died until 1980? What if they'd resolved their argument, and in 1979 they had a baby? That baby was you. In 1980, she was possessed by a demon, Bobby kills her, and everything else is basically the same. This is sort of an AU, starting at the Pilot. Each part of this series will be a new episode staring you and the Winchesters. It all started when Dean picked you up to help him convince Sam to come with him to find John, and things evolve from there. You had no idea that you would end up where you did, but you loved every moment of your adventures with Sam and Dean. Traveling the country, fighting the good fight. Come hell or high water, there was no place you'd rather be. Eventual Dean/Reader.

You were still in shock when the fire trucks and police cars came barrelling down the road. The look on Sam’s face as Dean had dragged him over to the car was forever burned into your memory, and it kept replaying, over and over. You’d never seen that expression on the face of someone you cared so much about, and you hoped to God that you never would again.

Sam’s girlfriend Jessica had been killed by the same thing that had murdered their mom. Whatever it was, you were hell bent on making sure that those boys got the chance to eviscerate it. It wouldn’t bring Mary or Jessica back, but at least it might give them some closure.

Sam’s face swam to your mind again as you recalled throwing your arms around him when he broke down and buried his face in your shoulder, tears streaming down his face, sobs wracking his body while he clung to you. Dean softly explained what had happened, and you felt like the world shifted, became darker in an instant.

You don’t know how long he stayed like that, but it felt like an eternity while your heart broke for him, and your own tears fell. You, like any normal human being, hated to see your friend in pain, and the thought of him losing someone he clearly loved so much was more than you could handle without crying for him.

After he’d let you go, and wandered away to collect himself, you’d stood leaning against the impala, trying to control your own breathing and stuff your feelings back down where they belonged; Locked safely away from the surface. Sam needed you to be strong, Dean needed it even more. You knew how much this must be tearing him up. How guilty he would feel, how guilty both of them would feel. It was one of the few pet peeves you had regarding the Winchesters; They blamed themselves for everything.

So you wiped the wetness from your face and let out a shaky breath you hadn’t noticed you’d been holding. You were staring at the firemen rushing into the building, and the crowd of onlookers lining the street; the commotion distracting you. You let your mind drift, and you breathed deep, even breaths, trying to slow your heart rate.

You heard Dean pop the trunk, and looked back to see Dean glancing at Sam, concerned. Sam gave him a hard look, and then you heard the familiar sound of a shotgun cocking. Sam tossed it into the trunk, eyes moving from you to Dean.

“We got work to do.” He said, voice carefully controlled, though you could hear anger leaking through. It scared you for him, to be honest. You could already see him slipping into a mask, pushing his feelings down and burying them. Just like you’d done. The complete opposite of a healthy way to deal with trauma. The sound of the trunk slamming a second later made you jump a little, and you climbed in to the back seat.

Dean and Sam climbed in moments later, and Dean locked eyes with you in the rear view for a moment. His green eyes, bright with unshed tears for his brother’s suffering, sent a stabbing pain straight to your heart, and you felt your own eyes well up in response. You clamped down tight on the reaction, not letting any fall. You saw the worry on Dean’s face, and you saw it coming before he even turned in his seat to look at you.

“No.” You exploded, as he opened his mouth. He raised an eyebrow, and a faint smirk crossed his face. It was gone as fast as it appeared and he was serious again.

“Look, Y/N, you just saw what happens to people who… care about us.” His words were carefully chosen, and you could tell he’d rehearsed the conversation in his mind. You looked over at Sam, but he was staring out the window, refusing to meet your eyes.

“No.” You repeated, quieter. Dean’s expression turned bitter, and a bit angry, but still you knew some part of him wanted you there. He was trying to protect you again, and you felt your cheeks flush, angry that he thought he could decide this for you.

“This isn’t about you.” He told you, trying to keep his voice calm. “I don’t want to be responsible for your death. I don’t want you getting killed in a fight that isn’t even yours to begin with. I’m taking you back to Bobby’s.”

“The hell you are Dean Winchester!” You exclaimed, anger mixing with frustration. “I’m a big fucking girl, and I can handle myself. Besides, next to dad, you and Sam are the closest thing I have to family. We might not be blood, and it might not be _my fight,_ but I can help. If you go after this, it’s going to be big, it’s going to be bad. Whether you like it or not, you boys could use my help.”

Dean looked away from you, and you saw his jaw clenching. He was being stubborn, and you could tell he wasn’t even considering your words, despite the conviction and determination they’d been infused with. You ran an irritated hand through your hair, and let out a loud sigh.

“Listen, Dean.” You pleaded, and his eyes met yours again. “I don’t want to die. I don’t. But if it came down to it, and I could have helped, could have saved you or Sam, and I didn’t? If you _died_ because I wasn’t there to back you two up? How am I supposed to live with that? Because let me tell you right now, and I mean every damn word; I don’t want to.”

“At least you’d be alive.” He tried, and his damn voice broke on the last word, it was like a knife twisting in your gut. You couldn’t let him sideline you, you couldn’t.

“Sam.” You begged, looking at him again. “Sam, don’t let him do this. You know I’m right. You know I can help.”

Sam still wouldn’t meet your gaze, and Dean started the car. You ran through all the options in your head, settling on the most reasonable argument.

“At least let me tag along to Blackwater Ridge.” You appealed, catching Dean’s eye again, letting defeat creep into your voice. “Just let me help with whatever’s going on there. If, at the end of the case, you still think I should leave I will. I’ll get on the first bus I can find headed to Sioux Falls. I’m not going to force you to keep me with you. But I want you to let me do this one thing. Please?”

It was the please that broke his resolve. You knew he didn’t really want to send you home in the first place, he was just trying to do what he thought was the right thing. Couple that with the fact that he’d always had a problem saying no when you really wanted something? It was like taking candy from a baby, you almost felt bad about it. Except for the fact that you would do whatever it took to keep them safe, especially because they were both completely emotionally compromised right now. They needed someone with a, somewhat, clear head looking out for them.

“Okay.” He gave in, resigned.

“Okay.” You echoed softly, trying not to say with your eyes that you would be damned if they were leaving you behind after this case either. You could be stubborn too. No point in spooking Dean now though, not when he’d just relented the tiniest bit.


	2. Chapter 2

You were staring out your window watching the scenery fly by as the impala sped toward Little Creek, the town near Blackwater Ridge. A week had passed since the night Jessica had been murdered. The three of you had spent the last week scouring for any little piece of evidence, any clue about what had done it, and you’d come up empty handed. There was absolutely no trail to follow, and eventually the decision had been made to move on to Blackwater Ridge.

You’d spent most of the journey lost in your own thoughts, coming up with arguments and counterarguments to launch at Dean once the case ended. You’d seen Sam fall asleep a while ago, and were glad he was resting. You couldn’t imagine what he was going through. You’d never been that intimate with someone in your life.

Sure, you’d had sex a fair number of times, but it had never meant anything. It had never been with anyone who’d meant anything. You didn’t really do relationships. Civilians were too naïve for your liking, and hunters, well, most hunters were dicks. Even Dean was kind of a dick, moving from port to port, never sticking around.

They tended to treat sex like stress relief, and that was fine, so long as everyone was consenting you supposed. It didn’t exactly leave a lot of room for meaningful relationships though. The closest thing you’d ever come to really loving someone was what you felt for Dean, but you knew that couldn’t even compare to what Sam felt for Jessica. Sam had been in love with someone who loved him back, had built a life with her, mapped out his future with her. Then it had all been ripped away from him. You let out a breath and tried to think about something else.

Sam startled, and jerked awake, the motion causing your eyes to flash up to Dean’s in the rear view. You knew that your own eyes were a mirror image of his, worried and unsure how to help.

“You ok?” Dean asked, glancing at Sam from the corner of his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sam lied, not looking at Dean.

“Another nightmare?” You piped up, leaning forward to touch his shoulder gently. Sam cleared his throat and didn’t answer. You squeezed his shoulder a little, just to let him know that if he needed to talk you were there, then you let go, sliding back in your seat.

Dean looked over at Sam, and seemed to be considering something, then he smiled a bit.

“Wanna drive for a while?” Dean asked, and Sam scoffed.

“Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that.” He replied, incredulous.

“Just thought you might want to. Never mind.” Dean said, sounding a little offended that Sam hadn’t jumped at the chance to drive his baby.

“Look, man, you’re worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but, I’m perfectly okay.” Sam told him, sounding sincere.

 _Sure Sam, and I’m Elvis Presley on a donkey wearing a tiara in the middle of a late December snowstorm_ , you thought, not believing a word. He was so _not_ okay, but he was doing what you all did, shoving it down, keeping it locked up tight until one day it would explode in a nasty mess all over someone. Just another day in the life.

“Mmhmm.” Dean mumbled, clearly finding as much truth in Sam’s statement as you had, but letting it drop.

“Alright. Where are we?” Sam questioned, as he pulled out the map.

“We are just outside of _Grand Junction_.” Dean replied.

“You know what?” Sam added. “Maybe we shouldn’t of left Stanford so soon.”

“Sam, we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing.” Dean reassured him. “If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica-”

“we gotta find dad first.” Sam finished.

“Dad disappearing, and _this_ thing showing up again after twenty years? It’s no coincidence. Dad’ll have answers, he’ll know what to do.” Dean repeated himself for what felt like the millionth time this week.

“He’s right Sam.” You confirmed. “We need to be smart about this.”

“It’s weird. These coordinates he left us; this Blackwater Ridge.” Sam speculated.

“What about it?” Dean asked.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just… woods. Why’s he sending us to the middle of nowhere?” Sam wondered, confused.

Dean shrugged a shoulder, jaw clenching as the car passed the sign for Little Creek, Colorado.

“Great. Hiking is my favorite.” You grumbled from the backseat. “I totally brought hiking boots on this cross country road trip.”

Dean let out a little laugh at the sarcasm in your voice. You’d never really been a nature girl. Sure you could rough it if you needed to, and you’d do it without complaint once you were out there. The idea though, of tramping through dense underbrush, bugs everywhere, was not your favorite at all.

You looked glumly at your fairly new knee high riding boots. They probably wouldn’t survive this encounter, and then you’d be left with only the ugly running shoes you’d brought just in case somewhere you stopped along the way had a gym and you felt like using it at the time. Oh well, you’d just have to convince them to stop somewhere to pick up some new footwear. You snorted at the thought of dragging Dean shoe shopping, and he looked at you quizzically in the mirror. You shook your head, and looked back out the window.


	3. Chapter 3

“So, Blackwater ridge is pretty remote. It’s cut off by these canyons here. Rough terrain, dense forests, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place.”

“This deal’s getting worse all the time.” You interjected, grinning at your own pop culture reference. Sam gave you his patented bitch face, and Dean was too busy staring at a picture of a hunter with a giant dead bear to hear your joke.

“Dude, check out the size of this frickin’ bear!” He exclaimed, as if he was reading your dejected thoughts.

It was Dean’s turn to be on the receiving end of the bitch face, and you snickered. Dean was unamused, which only made you laugh harder. Eventually he flashed a lopsided grin, and you felt your heart hammer as your laughter died down. Sam who had waited not so patiently for you to finish, continued his spiel.

“And half a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It’s no nature hike that’s for sure.” He elaborated.

“It’s never a nature hike.” You countered. “Who wants a nature hike anyway? Not like we’re a bunch of hippies, I’m sure we’ve handled worse.”

“You three aren’t planning to go out by Blackwater Ridge by any chance?” Interrupted an authoritative voice. You looked over your shoulder at the man in the Park Ranger uniform, and wondered whether he was going to try to stop you.

“Oh no, sir. We’re environmental studies students from U.C Boulder. Just working on a paper.” Sam answered in his best I’m totally innocent voice.

“Recycle, man.” Dean added, pumping his fist.

“Bull.” The ranger huffed. You all looked at each other, unsure where this was going. “You’re friends with that Hailey girl right?”

“Yeah,” You answered, “Hailey’s my BFF.” You elbowed Dean hard when you saw him starting to laugh, and he grunted. The ranger sighed.

“Well, _I_ will tell you _exactly_ what I told her. Her brother filled out a back country permit saying he wouldn’t be back until the 24 th. So it’s not exactly a missing _persons_ now is it? Tell that girl to quit worryin’. I’m sure her brother’s _just_ fine.” He told you all, walking away at the end of his little rant.

“We will.” You called after him. “She’s just really freaked out. But, you know, I think it would really help calm her down if I could get her a copy of that back country permit? You know, so she can see it herself. Maybe it’ll get through to her if she could _see_ her brother’s return date. Do you think you could do that, Ranger?” You asked, giving him your flirtiest, through the lashes look. The one that always got you what you wanted.

“Sure thing, sweetheart.” The ranger replied, turning to go get it for you. You grinned at Dean triumphantly, and he rolled his eyes at you.

Shortly after, the three of you left the station with the paper in hand. Sam seemed annoyed, but you brushed it off, thinking he was still pissy about you and Dean joking around earlier.

“Why’d you bother with that?” He asked, clearly frustrated. “Dad’s coordinates pointed to Blackwater Ridge. We should just head there. We should go find Dad. I mean, why do we even need to talk to this girl?”

“Uhhh.” You glanced at Dean eyebrow raised, and he shrugged, leaving you to handle Sam’s outburst. “Because maybe we should see if she knows what we’re about to walk into? Might help us not, you know, get killed prematurely…”

Dean was giving Sam a look that screamed ‘What-the-hell-is-going-on-with-you?’. This was basic hunter stuff, know thy enemy and all that.

“What?” Sam exclaimed at the two of you.

“Well, since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later, anyway?” Dean asked, surprised.

“Since now.” Sam answered defiantly, getting in the car.

“Really?” Dean mumbled, shooting you a look that said ‘keep-an-eye-on-him’. You nodded and the two of you got in the car too.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean knocked on the door, and you stepped up in front of him. He quirked an eyebrow, wondering what you were doing.

“She’ll be more comfortable with us, if two giant dudes aren’t crowding her doorway.” You supplied, mostly telling the truth. You also didn’t want Dean in front because you didn’t wanna watch him flash that sexy smile at the woman if she was hot. You knew it would put you in a bad mood right off the bat, so you cut the chances of seeing it by having him out of your line of sight.

The door opened and a pretty young woman with dark curly hair and bright blue eyes stood behind the screen looking at you. You could practically hear Dean’s grin behind you. You’d been wrong, you didn’t need to see it, in order for it to annoy the crap out of you.

“You must be Hailey Collins.” You said, with a smile plastered on your face. “I’m Y/N, these are my co-workers, Sam and Dean. We’re rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us to follow up with you about your brother, Tommy.”

She scrutinized you, then Sam and Dean, didn’t seem to be buying what you were selling, and honestly no wonder. The three of you weren’t exactly in uniform here.

“Let me see some ID.” She said. You smiled, and fished out your fake badge. You held it up for her to inspect, and she nodded, then opened the screen door.

“Come on in.” She offered.

“Thank-you.” You said as warmly as you could manage, following her in.

She led you in to the kitchen where she was preparing supper. Her younger brother sat at the table waiting, staring at the plate in front of him listlessly. You looked around the room for anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing unusual.

“So, if Tommy’s not due back for a while, how do you know something’s wrong?” Sam questioned, almost impatiently.

“He checks in every day by cell. He emails photos, stupid little videos, but we haven’t heard anything in over three days now.” She replied, face full of concern.

“Well, maybe he can’t get cell reception.” Sam offered, the snark in his voice not going unnoticed. She shook her head, brows furrowing.

“He’s got a satellite phone too.” She explained.

“Could it be he’s just having fun, and forgot to check in?” Dean proposed.

“He wouldn’t do that!” Interrupted the young man, clearly agitated.

“Our parents are gone. It’s just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other.” She elaborated.

“Can I see the pictures he sent?” You interjected, maybe you could see something on them that she wouldn’t have even noticed. Plenty of the things that went bump in the night showed up in pictures.

“Yeah.” She answered.

Hailey brought out a laptop, and she pulled up the photos for you.

“That’s Tommy.” She mentioned, and began to scroll through the photos. You could feel Sam and Dean over your shoulder, watching the photos with the same intensity and attention to detail as you were.

Hailey clicked play on a video of Tommy. He was sitting in a tent, his hair was a bit shaggy, dark brown. You couldn’t make out his eye color, but you guessed they would be blue. His jaw was covered in the scruffy beginnings of a beard. His smile was wide, infectious, and he was pretty cute, you had to admit.

“Hey Hailey. Day 6. We’re still out near Blackwater Ridge. We’re fine. Keeping Safe. So don’t worry ok? Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Well, we’ll find your brother. We’re heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing.” Dean told her gruffly as the video ended. You gritted your teeth, he’d used his rough, I’m manly voice on her, which meant one thing, and you didn’t like that thing much at all.

“Then maybe I’ll see you there.” Hailey answered, walking away. “Look, I can’t sit around here anymore. So I hired a guide. I’m heading out in the morning and I’m gonna find Tommy myself.”

Her voice was strong, and she was looking at you with eyes that dared you to contradict her. Damn it, you kinda liked her. She had spunk.

“I think I know how you feel.” Dean replied, voice silky. You didn’t even dislike her this time when she looked at him with those big, beautiful blue eyes. You did however, feel a certain amount of irritation toward your favorite hunter.

“Hey,” Sam spoke up, interrupting the tense moment, _thank fuck._ “You mind forwarding these to me?”

“Sure.” She answered, with a shrug.


	5. Chapter 5

The heavy twang of guitar heavy country music filled the dingy bar. You, Dean, and Sam sat around a table, in the dimly lit room. A bowl of peanuts sat in the middle of the table, and you eyed them. You were about to risk eating some; you hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and that had been a candy bar and bottle of pop, when Sam had pulled out a file folder and dropped it on the table. You scooted your chair closer to his so that you could look over the files he was showing you.

“So, Blackwater Ridge doesn’t get a lot of traffic; mostly local campers, but still this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found.” Sam informed the two of you.

“Anything before that?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, in 1982, 8 people, all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And in 1959, and again before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork.” Sam answered, as he pointed to an old newspaper article about a grizzly attack.

“23 years is a weird cycle.” You chimed in, having nothing else to offer. Sam shrugged, and pulled out his laptop.

“Okay, watch this. Here’s the clincher.” Sam said clicking on a video. “I downloaded that guy, Tommy’s video to the laptop. Check this out.”

You watched closely as Sam flipped through a few frames from the video. Tommy was sitting in the tent, and you could make out the shadow of a figure outside the tent flashing across behind him.

“What the hell was that?” You wondered.

“Play that again.” Dean requested, and Sam complied, backing it up and showing you again.

“That’s three frames.” Sam announced, shaking his head in awe. “That’s a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move.”

Dean reached over to slap Sam on the shoulder, giving him an I-told-you-so look. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at Dean’s need to prove he was right.

“I told you something weird was going on.” Dean followed up, and Sam closed the laptop.

“Yeah.” Sam answered, pulling out a paper. “I got one more thing. In ’59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive.”

“Why does it always have to be kids?” You complained, hating that a poor little kid had gone through something so freaking awful.

“Is there a name?” Dean cut in, he didn’t like to think too much about the never-ending stream of child victims. If he dwelled on it too much, he figured it would drive him crazy.

“Yep.” Sam boasted. “And I got the address too.”

“So, we’re not staying for supper, are we?” You asked, as your stomach growled. Dean flashed you one of his lopsided smiles and slid the questionable bowl of peanuts in your direction.

“Duty calls, sweetheart.” He confirmed. You considered the peanuts a moment before reaching in and grabbing a handful. You popped them in your mouth and pulled on the dark blue jean jacket that had been resting on the back of your chair. They weren’t awful you decided, and you scooped up one more handful before following Sam and Dean to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

The dark apartment smelled like dirty socks and smoke. You wrinkled your nose when the old man who’d answered the door had turned to allow the three of you inside. You followed him in, Sam and Dean trailing behind you.

“Listen Rangers, I don’t know why you’re asking _me_ about this. It’s public record, and I was a _kid_.” He stated, puffing on his cigarette. “My parents got mauled by a-”

“Grizzly?” Sam cut him off. “That’s what attacked ‘em?”

The old man looked at Sam, and you could see the lingering fear in his eyes. Whatever he’d seen, it definitely hadn’t been a bear and it still frightened him. He plucked the smoke from his mouth, and looked down, nodding uncertainly.

“What about the other people who went missing that year?” You asked quietly, moving closer to him “Were those grizzly attacks too? And the people who went missing this year? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to help. We could even stop it.”

The cigarette was back in the man’s mouth, and he was looking even more shell shocked than he had when you’d walked in. You really disliked forcing him to dredge up memories that were undoubtedly excruciating for him, but you needed to know what you were going to run into in the morning.

“I seriously doubt that.” He criticized, sinking into a chair at his table. “Anyways, I don’t see what difference it would make. You wouldn’t believe me. Nobody ever did.”

You looked back at Sam, and he walked forward. Sam was the one who was really good at the touchy-feely get you to spill your guts crap.

“Mr. Shaw,” He spoke in a soothing tone, and sat down on the arm of a couch across from the old guy. “What’d you see?”

Mr. Shaw took one look at Sam’s earnest face, and sighed. You could see the moment he decided to come clean, it was like a weight being lifted, as though someone finally believing what had happened was the biggest relief he’d ever felt.

“Nothing.” He conceded. “It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it though. A roar. Like no man or animal, I ever heard. It came at night.”

“Got inside your tent?” Sam asked.

“It got inside our _cabin_.” Mr. Shaw disclosed. “I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn’t smash a window or break the door. It unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do somethin’ like that? I didn’t even wake up until I heard my parents screamin’.”

You rubbed a hand over your mouth, the suffering in the old man’s voice was brutal. You felt Dean shift behind you, and his hand squeezed your shoulder briefly. You felt tingles rush down your spine from the contact, and straightened your shoulders. You didn’t want him thinking this was getting to you. No faster way to get him to send you packing, than to let him think you were too soft.

“It killed ‘em?” Sam inquired.

“Dragged ‘em off into the night.” Mr. Shaw informed, looking down. “Why it left me alive, been askin’ myself that ever since. It did leave me this though.”

He pulled his shirt aside to reveal four deep scars on his left shoulder that ran from the top to about a quarter of the way down his chest. The wounds looked like gashes from massive claws. Your eyes flew to Sam’s and then Dean’s, wondering what their thoughts were. You were stumped.

“There’s something evil in those woods.” Mr. Shaw continued with a nod. “It was some sort of a demon.”

It wasn’t until you’d left the apartment, and were out of Mr. Shaw’s earshot that Dean voiced his opinion.

“Spirits and demons don’t have to unlock doors if they want inside. They just go through the walls.” Dean commented as he walked.

“So it’s probably something else. Something corporeal.” Sam offered.

“Corporeal?” Dean questioned, looking at Sam with raised brows. “Excuse me professor.”

“Shut up. So what do you think?” Sam asked.

You smiled at their bickering, it was nice to see them getting back to normal again. To anyone else it might seem like they were fighting, but you knew they were being playful.

“The claws, the speed that it moves? Could be a skin walker. Maybe a black dog. Whatever we’re talking about, we’re talking about a creature, and it’s corporeal. Which means we can kill it.” Dean reasoned.

Once you’d all arrived back at the car, Dean looked around before popping the trunk. He propped open the hidden compartment with a shotgun, and immediately began to load up a duffle bag with whatever weapons he thought might be useful. Sam leaned over on his right side, double checking the supplies Dean was loading.

“We can’t let Hailey go out there.” You interrupted, concerned. “She has no idea what’s waiting in those woods.”

“Yeah? And what are we gonna tell her? That she can’t go into the woods because of a big scary monster?” Dean asked skeptically.

“No.” You replied.

“Yeah.” Sam answered at the same time.

“Her brother’s missing guys. She’s not just gonna sit this out. No, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend.” Dean pointed out.

“So finding Dad’s not enough?” Sam questioned, slamming the trunk closed angrily. “Now we gotta babysit too?”

You and Dean stared at him. You were shocked by the outburst, usually Sam would have been the first one to want to protect the civilians. Dean was concerned, his brother was clearly not dealing with Jessica’s death, and it was coming out as misplaced anger. He was starting to worry that the anger might become a liability some time soon.

“What?” Sam demanded, looking hard at you and Dean.

“Nothin’.” Dean answered, throwing the bag roughly to Sam and stomping his way to the driver’s side door. You heard the loud sound of it banging shut behind him and you winced.


	7. Chapter 7

Hailey was already gearing up when the impala pulled up to the trail head. You saw her smile softly, and felt your irritation levels rise. Not only were you about to deal with rough terrain, possibly bugs, and a deadly predator, all in your favorite boots I might add. But you were going to have to do it while having to listen to Dean flirting with a pretty girl. _This nature walk just keeps getting better_ , you thought glumly.

You took your time getting out of the car, and shouldering your messenger bag, so you missed the initial introductions.

“And you’re hiking out in biker boots and jeans?” You heard Hailey ask incredulously as you walked up.

“Well, sweetheart, I don’t do shorts.” Dean informed her, smirking as he walked past. Hailey turned to look after him, and you felt that all too familiar twinge of jealousy well up.

“What you think this is funny?” The guy who must be the guide grumbled. “It’s dangerous back country and her brother might be hurt.”

You suppressed a grin at Dean being called out. The guide was kinda cute too, and your estimation of him had just skyrocketed. Dean was pretty imposing, so standing up to him instantly made you kind of like the guy. Plus, Dean’s expression as he looked back at Sam, over at you, and then back to the guide was just pricelessly comical.

“Believe me. I know how dangerous it can be.” Dean quipped with a serious face. “We just wanna help them find their brother, that’s all.”

The guide looked over at you, and you offered him a small smile, meant to be comforting. You needed him to trust the three of you, and Dean wasn’t exactly making the greatest impression. He smiled quickly back, then looked toward Dean and sighed.

You’d been walking for the woods for quite a while, you taking up the rear. You’d assumed the position to distance yourself from the goo-goo eyes that Dean was making at Hailey. It left enough space that you could tune them out pretty easily, and focus on looking out for anything that might be out of the ordinary.

The trees that surrounded you were huge, old. The ground covered in moss, ferns, and tree roots. You carefully picked your way through them, grimacing with every scuff your boots received. You knew you were being petty, but being in close proximity to Dean flirting with another girl was enough to set you on edge. Not that you had any sort of claim on him, you knew that, knew Dean didn’t think of you that way. Didn’t help it hurt any less though, and you couldn’t help comparing yourself to Hailey, and all the other women you’d seen Dean flirt with.

Were they prettier than you? You didn’t honestly think so, but sometimes, it seemed the only good reason. Logically, you knew it was much more likely that he’d just never considered you an option. He respected your dad, you’d been thrown together more times than you could count growing up. Him and Sammy had even spent a few summers at your place. You figured he thought about you as if you were some kind of a cousin or something in that vein. Which was all kinds of shitty, especially considering that the way you felt about him was not even close to cousinly.

You could hear Dean and Roy, you’d learned that was the guide’s name, talking up ahead, but you weren’t really listening. You were too wrapped up in your thoughts. It wasn’t until you saw Roy grab Dean by the back of the coat that your attention snapped back to the present. You jogged forward, ready to step between them. Dean had probably been rude to him; he always was when he thought he knew more than the locals.

“Whatcha doin’ Roy?” Dean asked, half way between pissed and conciliatory.

Roy let go of Dean to bend down and pick up a stick. He stabbed it into the ground a couple of feet in front of Dean, and a bear trap burst up through the fallen leaves, severing the branch neatly as it clamped shut. The metallic clang of the steel trap echoed, and you looked up at Dean with wide eyes. That could have been his leg, _Jesus_. It was time to start paying a-fucking-ttention.

“You should watch where you’re stepping.” Roy smiled at Dean. “Ranger.”

Dean smirked, and had the good graces to look a tad embarrassed when he glanced over his shoulder at you and Sam.

“It’s a bear trap.” He mumbled, with a smile, like it was funny.

“No shit, Sherlock.” You replied, letting him know you didn’t think it was funny at all. Dean ignored your retort, and turned to follow Roy. You let out a loud sigh, as you watched Hailey jog forward to catch up with Dean.

Sam caught your eye, and you flushed, looking away. You wondered if he still remembered the summer you’d confessed your feelings for Dean to him. It had been shortly before he’d left for Stanford, so you figured he’d been so wrapped up in his own problems, that maybe he’d forgotten about it. Besides, even if he did remember, it had been so long ago, he had to think you were over it by now, right? Well, one sure way to make sure he definitely didn’t think you were over Dean, which you weren’t but you didn’t want him knowing, was to keep avoiding his eyes.

“Seen any clues yet?” You asked him, holding his gaze, and choosing to ignore whatever was going on with Hailey and Dean. You saw Sam glance over at Dean, questioningly, and he nodded. You and Sam passed by.

“Not yet.” Sam answered, looking at you again. “You?”

“Jack squat so far.” You shrugged. “Think it’s much further? My poor boots can’t handle much more of this. Do you have any idea how much these cost?”

Sam chuckled and shook his head. You grinned up at him, it always made your day when Sam laughed at your antics.

“Seriously Sam.” You continued. “I earned these boots. It was spring break in Fort Lauderdale. I won not one, but two wet t-shirt contests to buy these suckers.”

Sam laughed loudly, and you let out a laugh as well. It was only partly true, you’d been pretty drunk at the time, enjoying a night of celebration after you’d cleaned out a small nest of vamps. You’d been buzzed enough that wet t-shirt contests seemed like a hell of a smart way to earn some drinking money real fast. You’d used what was left over the next morning to buy the, now wrecked, boots you were sporting.

“What was that about wet t-shirts?” You heard Dean ask, closer behind you than you’d thought he was. You blushed, and turned to glance back at him.

“Oh, you know, just wondering who would win. You or Sam?” You asked, not bothering to supress your grin, and throwing in a wink for good measure.

“Definitely Dean.” Sam joked, trying not to laugh before his punchline. “His boobs are bigger than mine.”

You cracked up, and Dean smirked. You once again realized how happy you were that things were going back to normal. It was getting easier to forget about the impending deadline of convincing Dean to keep you around, and you liked it that way.

The trek dragged on for a while longer, you and Sam falling in behind Roy, Ben, Hailey’s younger brother behind you, while Hailey and Dean brought up the rear. Roy stopped, looking around, and you and Sam caught up with him. You raised your eyebrows in question.

“This is it.” Roy stated. “Blackwater Ridge.”

“What coordinates are we at?” Sam asked, face suddenly serious.

“35, -111.” Roy replied, as he checked his gps.

Dean walked over to you and Sam, the two of them shared a meaningful glance before scanning the area. Your eyes drifter over the surrounding trees and underbrush, ears straining to hear anything unusual.

“You hear that?” Dean questioned, looking over at Sam.

“Yeah.” Sam answered, looking to you. That was when you caught on. There were no birds chirping, no animal noises. Just silence and more silence all around.

“Dead silence?” You asked quietly, keeping the concern off your face. Didn’t want to creep out Hailey & co. did you?

“I’m gonna take a look around.” Roy told Hailey, and the three of you turned around. You felt a moment of panic, wondering how you’d keep him from checking it out on his own.

“You shouldn’t go off by yourself.” Sam interjected, a bit disdainfully.

“That’s sweet.” Roy mocked. “Don’t worry about me.”

He started to walk past you when you reached out on impulse and touched his arm. You looked up at him with a small flirty smile, figuring you were his best shot at living through it, since he insisted on going.

“Mind if I tag along?” You let warmth flood your voice, and Roy smiled down at you.

“Sure, sweetheart. Try and keep up, though.” He drawled. You started to follow him, when you noticed Dean giving you a dirty look. You shrugged a shoulder at him, you knew it wasn’t the safest choice to go stomping around with a monster out there, but you weren’t just going to let some innocent guy go off and get himself killed.

“Watch yourself.” Sam reminded you, and you nodded.

“Alright, everyone stays together.” You heard Dean say, frustrated, as you kept pace with Roy.

You could hear them following behind a bit, but focused on what was ahead of you. You needed to be alert. You and Roy hadn’t wandered far when you came across the wreckage of a campsite. The tents were shredded, blood splattered on them, supplies were strewn about. Your eyes locked with Roy’s for a moment. This wasn’t what he’d been hoping to find, and he shook his head sadly.

“Hailey! Over here!” He called out, and you watched as the rest of the gang jogged over to catch up. Hailey’s eyes filled up with worry as she surveyed the site.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed.

“Looks like a grizzly.” Roy explained.

Hailey walked numbly forward, eyes flitting from tent to tent, searching for her brother. You already knew he wasn’t here, but you let her see for herself. You didn’t want to say anything, not sure if you could keep what you suspected out of your voice; whatever had been here, it had taken the campers to-go.

Dean was strolling around the campsite, taking in all the details. You watched as he came to the same conclusion you had.

“Tommy?” Hailey called. “Tommy! Tommy!”

“Shhh!” Sam whispered, jogging up to Hailey. “Shh.”

“Why?” She questioned, staring up at him confused.

“Because, something might still be out there.” Sam stressed. You’d been so distracted by the two of them, that you hadn’t noticed that Dean had wandered off, until you heard him calling you and Sam. You jogged toward the sound of his voice, Sam slightly ahead of you. He was crouched near some ruts in the ground, and you slowed, bending over to look at them.

“The campers were dragged from the site?” You surmised, and Dean nodded.

“But here the tracks just vanish.” He puzzled. “It’s weird. I’ll tell you what; It’s no skin walker or black dog.”

He turned to walk back to Roy and the others, and you looked up at Sam, disturbed. His face held the same concerned look yours did.

“Then what the hell are we dealing with, Sam?” You asked. He just shook his head, and did a quick scan of the forest, before placing his hand on the small of your back, and nudging you toward the rest of your group.

When you got back to the campsite, Dean was trying to comfort Hailey. She was crying over the wreckage of what looked like a satellite phone. He was giving her some line about the possibility her brother was still alive, and you didn’t even feel the usual spike of jealousy. You just felt sad for her, to be honest.

“Help!” A voice called out from the woods. Roy was running straight for it almost as soon as it sounded. You chased after him, Sam and Dean following seconds behind. Hailey and Ben were trying to keep up, and you could hear screams for help sounding out through the woods. You followed close behind Roy, not wanting to let him too far ahead of you.

The screams suddenly stopped as you all ran into a small clearing and you paused. All of you looked around, panicked, straining to hear where the screams had come from.

“It seemed like it was coming from around here didn’t it?” Hailey piped up, breathing hard.

Sam scanned the trees and straightened up suddenly. You wondered what he saw, but didn’t ask.

“Everybody back to camp.” He said, and turned around to lead the way. Everyone followed, jogging behind. As soon as you cleared the trees, you all noticed it instantly.

“Our packs!” Hailey exclaimed, waving a hand at the spot they’d been.

“So much for my gps and my satellite phone.” Roy muttered, shotgun resting on his knee as he knelt where he’d left his gear.

“What the hell’s going on?” Hailey questioned.

“It’s smart.” Sam surmised. “It wants to cut us off so we can’t call for help.”

Roy stood up, looking at Sam, unconvinced.

“You mean someone, some nut job up out there just stole all our gear.” Roy stated.

“I need to speak with you. In private.” Sam demanded, eyes flashing between you and Dean. You nodded, and gave Roy what you hoped was a reassuring smile as you followed Sam off a safe distance.

When the three of you were far enough away, Sam turned to Dean.

“Okay, let me see Dad’s journal.” Sam requested. Dean handed it over. You tilted your head to the side inquisitively, wondering what Sam had picked up on. He opened it and flipped through the pages before pausing at a particular spot and holding it up in front of Dean.

“Alright. Check that out.” He urged. You moved closer to Dean so you could look over his shoulder. You regretted it almost instantly, because he smelled fucking amazing. Despite the long trek through the woods he smelled of soap, leather, and a scent you’d long ago labelled Dean. You considered momentarily that there might be something seriously wrong with you, when despite the dangerous situation you were all in, the smell of him hit you like a ton of bricks, sending a rush of heat straight between your legs. You were startled out of your musings when Dean chuckled.

“Oh, come on. Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods, or, or northern Michigan. I’ve never even _heard_ of one this far west.” He scoffed.

“Think about it Dean.” Sam began.

“The claws.” You put in, eyes flicking to Dean. “And mimicking a human voice. It fits.”

“Great!” Dean huffed, and then flashed his gun. “Well then _this_ is useless.”

Sam clenched his jaw, and slapped the book onto Dean’s chest before walking a few steps behind him. He turned around, face angry.

“We gotta get these people to safety.” He added, pointing for emphasis.

You stood for a moment, wrapping your brain around what you were dealing with, trying to figure out the next move as you watched Dean. He had that look on his face, the one that meant he was already blaming himself for anything that was about to go down.

“Dean…” You started, touching his arm, trying to tell him with your eyes that this wasn’t his fault. You knew he wouldn’t listen even if you’d said the words out loud.

“Don’t Y/N.” He objected. “Sam was right. We should have kept these people out of the woods somehow. Should have kept you out.”

“Newsflash Dean, you can’t control other people. Much as I know you’d like to, you just can’t. You’re not responsible for keeping people out of the woods, and you certainly aren’t responsible for me. You don’t make my decisions; you don’t tell me where I can go. Your only responsibility here, is to limit the damage, and kill this son of a bitch.” You exploded, refusing to let him do this to himself.

“But you-” He tried, eyes boring into yours, clearly worried.

“Listen Dean.” You cut him off. “If I wasn’t here with you, I’d be on another hunt just like it by now. Alone. At least if I’m here, I’ve got you and I’ve got Sam, and you know what? I like those odds.”

“Y/N-” He cut himself off, and you wondered what he’d been about to say. The way he was looking at you sent tendrils of warmth through your body, and you let yourself hope, just for a second, that he was about to tell you something you’d been waiting forever to hear. The moment was interrupted when you heard Sam shouting at the rest of the group that it was time to pack up. Both of you popped back to the present, and jogged back to camp.

“Kid, don’t worry about it. Whatever’s out there, I think I can handle it.” You heard Roy telling Sam as you walked back into the clearing.

“It’s not me I’m worried about.” Sam responded. “If you shoot this thing, you’re just gonna make it _mad_. We have to leave. _Now_.”

Well that was going to go over well, you were sure.

“One, you’re talkin’ nonsense. Two, you’re in no position to give anybody orders.” Roy spat at Sam.

“Relax.” Interrupted Dean.

“We never should have let you come out here in the first place alright, we’re trying to protect you.” Sam went on. And cue your eye roll. The testosterone in here was getting pretty heavy, and the boys weren’t exactly convincing the others with their macho protecting you routine.

“You? Protect me?” Spluttered Roy, getting up in Sam’s face. “I was hunting in these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight!”

“Yeah? It’s a damn _near_ , perfect, _hunter_. It’s smarter than you. And it’s gonna _hunt_ you down and _eat_ you alive. Unless we get your _stupid,_ sorry ass out of here.” Sam’s tone was over the top patronizing, and Roy burst out laughing, only it wasn’t the funny kind of laughter, it was the you’re-insane kind of laughter.

“You know you’re crazy, right?” Roy demanded, smacking Sam on the shoulder.

“Yeah? You ever hunt a Wendi-” Sam began. He was cut off as you shoved yourself between him and Roy, and Dean dragged Sam back a few steps and told him to chill out. Hailey was shrilly yelling for Roy to stop.

“Can we fucking stop with the god damn pissing contest?” You stormed. “Everybody calm the fuck down, tuck it back in your pants, and back the fuck up!”

Hailey nodded in agreement, eyes flashing between Roy and Dean. They settled on Dean, and she stood her ground.

“Tommy might still be alive.” She implored, “And I’m not leaving here without him.”

 _Ugh._ Nothing would make Dean’s resolve waiver like an older sibling trying to save a younger one. You knew he wouldn’t force the issue, because you knew he’d do the same thing for Sam. Then again, what was he supposed to do, drag three unwilling people out of the woods forcefully?

“It’s getting late. This thing is a good hunter in the day. But an _unbelievable_ hunter at night. We’ll never beat it. Not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves.” Dean uttered.

“How?” Hailey asked.


	8. Chapter 8

Sunset had rapidly approached as you made preparations, and the dark settled over the woods like an ominous cloak. You’d gathered wood and built a fire while the boys had started in on drawing the Anasazi protection symbols in the dirt with sticks. Dean was finishing up the last of the symbols, and you were sitting a few feet away from Hailey and Ben, arms wrapped around your knees to keep warm. Sam was resting next you, staring off into the woods, eyes unfocused. You kept your mouth shut, despite the million and one things you wanted to say and ask, because you understood that he needed some time to think. You could tell he was working something out, and you let him, sitting in comfortable silence.

You glanced over at Dean as he stood from drawing the last design. The symbols would prevent the Wendigo from crossing into camp, and was basically all that stood between the six of you and being ripped to shreds. Dean was explaining it to Hailey for the second time when Roy, gun slung over one shoulder, laughed.

“Nobody likes a skeptic Roy.” Dean tossed out, standing to walk over to the two of you. He sat down on the other side of Sam and stared hard at him.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on in that freaky head of yours?” Dean asked him. You shot Dean a look that said nice-opener-asshat, and then went back to scanning the trees for signs of movement.

“Dean-” Sam started.

“No, you’re not fine.” Dean finished. “You’re like a powder keg man, that’s not like you. I’m supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?”

“Dad’s not here.” Sam spoke so quietly that you barely heard him. “I mean, that much we know for sure, right. He would have left us a message. A sign, right?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Dean answered. “Tell you the truth, I don’t think Dad’s ever been to lost creek.”

“Then let’s get these people back to town, and let’s hit the road. Go find Dad, I mean why are we still even here?” Sam implored, throwing the stick he was holding to the ground. He looked over at you like he was willing you to back him up on this.

But you couldn’t. If they decided to go, then you would take this thing down by yourself if you had to. You couldn’t just let it keep killing innocent campers. You tried to make Sam understand with your eyes, but he looked away, angry. Dean let out a loud sigh, and moved to kneel on the ground in front of Sam. He held out their dad’s journal, and slapped his hand on top of it. Something about Dean down on one knee made your palms sweat a little, and you wiped them on your jeans, looking away.

You kind of wanted to get up at leave, give them some time alone, but you felt like standing up and backing off now would be pretty awkward.

“This is why.” Dean told him. “This book. This is Dad’s single most valuable possession and everything he knows about every evil thing, is in here. And he’s passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.”

“That makes no sense!” Sam countered. “Why doesn’t he just call us? Why doesn’t he, tell us what he wants. Tell us where he is?”

“I dunno.” Dean continued. “But the way I see it, Dad’s given us a job to do, and I intend to do it.”

“Dean.” Sam was shaking his head, voice barely a whisper. “No. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica’s killer. It’s the only thing I can think about.”

You didn’t even think about it, you just reached out, and wrapped your arm around his shoulders, giving him a little squeeze. The hurt in his voice was too much for you to pretend you weren’t listening to. He tensed for a second at the contact, clearly not expecting it, then relaxed a little, looking at the ground, eyes glassy with unshed tears.

“Okay. Alright. Sam we’ll find him I promise. Listen to me. You’ve gotta prepare yourself. I mean the search could take a while. And all that anger, you can’t keep it burning over the long haul. It’s gonna kill you. You gotta have patience man.” Dean responded calmly, voice soothing.

Sam was shaking his head, grimacing. Your heart was breaking for him all over again. You had the strongest urge to just pull him into your arms, and keep him there until it was all better, but that would be never. Instead you just settled for rubbing his arm, and hoping it helped. Your maternal instincts, which honestly, you didn’t think you had in the first place, were definitely in overdrive right now.

“How do you do it, man?” He laughed, without an ounce of joy. “How does Dad do it?”

“Well, for one them.” Dean said, gesturing towards Hailey and Ben. “I mean, I figure our family’s so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little more bearable. I’ll tell you what else helps; Killing as many evil son’s a bitches as I possibly can.”

Dean flashed a little smile, and Sam hesitantly returned it. You leaned your weight against Sam for a minute, then let your arm drop away. He looked over at you, and you punched him lightly in the shoulder with a smile.

“You know what helps me?” You asked in a very valley girl accent, smirking, and not giving them time to answer. “Shoe shopping. Which is exactly where someone is going to have to take me after all of this, because these are the last pair of useable footwear that I brought with me. And, look, they’re totally trashed.”

Sam nodded to Dean, smile playing on his lips, and Dean shook his head, eyes huge, brows furrowed, and pointed to Sam. You laughed, glad to break the tension. Your mirth was cut short by a scream from the woods.

“Help me!” It called. You all stood up, and walked back toward the others, eyes dancing around the campsite warily.

“Please!” It called again. The Wendigo was starting its hunt. Trying to lure you out.

“Help!” Your eyes scoured the treeline for any sign of where it was coming from. Your adrenaline was pumping and you were on riled up. If you had to admit it, you were also a healthy amount of scared. Wendigos were nothing to mess with, and you could see Roy fidgeting with his gun. There was no way he was going to be easy to contain the whole night.

“Help!”

“He’s trying to draw us out.” Dean informed everyone. “Just stay cool. Stay put.”

“Inside the magic circle?” Roy mocked, shining his flashlight into the forest in front of him. Your eyes cut to him, and you nodded, _yes, inside the fucking magical circle_.

“Help!” You turned to where the voice seemed to come from. Nothing in the beam of your flashlight. You turned back, kept your eyes on the people you were protecting, trusting Sam and Dean to keep watch for the Wendigo. Right now the most volatile part of this situation was how these people would react. You could see the agitation on all of their faces, the complete dismissal on Roy’s.

“Help me please!” It called, and then it let out an awful, terrifying roar. It was deafening, and it sent your heart rate spiking. It wasn’t the first time you’d heard one, so if you were having this reaction, you could only guess how scared Hailey, Ben and Roy were. Then again, none of them really believed what this thing could do. Yet.

“Okay, that’s not a grizzly.” Roy exclaimed, shaken, gun raised, pointing aimlessly into the woods.

Hailey grabbed Ben’s hand, and sat him down, trying to stay calm for him. You could see the fear shining in her eyes as she tried to keep her brother from freaking out.

“It’s okay. He’ll be alright I promise.” She reassured him.

A loud growling roar screamed out of the woods behind them, making them jump, Hailey screaming shrilly. The tiny hairs on the back of your neck were standing up, a primal fear triggered, and you struggled to control your breathing. Being a hunter wasn’t about having no fear, it was about overcoming the natural reaction to it, and acting in spite of it.

“It’s here.” You mumbled, to no one in particular.

You bounced from foot to foot, keeping yourself ready to react, but there wasn’t much you could do if the wendigo got in. The knife you were twirling in your hand with would probably just piss it off too, if you even managed to nick it that is.

The bushes were moving here and there around the clearing and it roared. Roy let off a shot, and then spun around as he heard it move, squeezing off another two rounds, the sound was echoed, and just after the last shot went off, a pained growl erupted from the woods.

“I hit it!” Roy whooped, running off toward the noise.

“Roy, no!” You yelled after him. “Fuck!”

“Y/N!” Dean warned, but you didn’t look at him, you had already taken off running after Roy. He was being stupid and naïve, but he didn’t deserve to be gutted alive.

“Stay here!” You heard Dean order, and then you heard him crashing through the brush behind you.

“It’s over here!” Roy called. “It’s in the tree!”

You got there just in time to see the wendigo grab Roy by his head, and rip him up into the tree above him. Roy hadn’t even had time to scream. Your hand flew to your face, and you shook your head. You’d been too late to rescue Roy.

“Roy? Y/N?!” Dean called, just before he saw you. You turned to look at him with wide eyes, and saw Sam arrive just after.

“Roy didn’t make it.” You informed them stiffly, and Dean closed the distance between you to wrap his arms around you.

“Don’t scare me like that again.” He scolded. “You could have got yourself killed.” You felt your arms circle around his back, and fist in his jacket. You let your head rest against his chest for a minute, relaxing against him, enjoying the warmth as your heart hammered for a completely different reason this time. The combination of his warm weight enveloping you, and the musky scent of him so close, was doing things to your heart and body that you tried not to think about. He was right, though, it could have just as easily been you.

“I know.” You mumbled. “I just wanted to stop him.”

You knew Dean understood, he felt the same way about hunting as you did. It was a calling, your duty as someone who knew what was out there, to protect these people, save them. He pulled back, hands moving to your upper arms. You shivered at the feel of his hands on you, your body reacting to his touch, as he stared down hard at you. You suppressed the urge to lick your lips, Dean, this close? Your body was having all sorts of ideas, despite the clear and present danger you were all in.

“Seriously, Y/N. Don’t do that again. You’re supposed to be the level headed one.” Dean reminded you. You nodded, not trusting your voice to come out without too many feelings attached.


	9. Chapter 9

The sun was up, and Sam was reclining against a huge tree stump, staring into the woods as he fiddled with his dad’s journal. You’d spent the night huddled beside him for warmth, and he still had one arm around your back. You were tucked against his side, cheek resting over his heart, eyes still closed, though you were awake. After the hug from Dean last night, you’d had a hell of a time reigning in your feelings again. You couldn’t imagine the kind of wreck you’d be if you’d spent the night cuddled up against him.

Instead, the moment you’d gotten back to camp, when Sam had dropped down against the tree, you’d followed. Sitting next to him, staring off into the woods, both of you lost in thought. When he’d noticed you were shivering, he’d reached over, and pulled you closer, warm arms wrapping around you. It was nice, comfortable and protective. Completely devoid of anything except totally platonic friendship. In other words, it was just what you’d needed to fall asleep.

The noises and screams for help had gone on through the night, but you’d managed to doze off a bit throughout it. Exhaustion seeping in, you’d let yourself rest.

“I don’t… I mean, these types of things, they’re not supposed to be real.” Hailey spoke up, startling you. You opened your eyes and stretched, looking up at Sam with a grateful smile. Dean was telling Hailey he wished he could tell her different, and trying to keep the situation under control. You tuned out their conversation by looking Sam over. You knew he hadn’t slept a wink, his eyes were tired, and there were dark circles beneath them.

“Thanks for being both pillow and blanket.” You greeted, and he looked down to meet your eyes with a small smile.

“You were cold.” He confided. “Didn’t think you’d take my sweater if I offered.”

“You’re right.” You chuckled softly. “You didn’t sleep?”

“Nope.” He answered, smile gone. You frowned, but it hadn’t exactly been ideal sleeping conditions.

“Next time I’ll be the pillow.” You offered, not being able to resist throwing in a joke. “I’ll even sing you a lullaby.”

“Sure.” He let out with a small laugh. “We should make the most of the daylight.”

Sam stood and walked over to Dean, Hailey and Ben. You slowly stood up, and then stretched. Your butt and left leg had gone numb at some point. You jiggled your leg as the pins and needles started in your foot and traveled upward. You kept your eyes on Sam and Dean while you waited for the sensation to fade.

“Hey. So, we got half a chance in the daylight.” Sam started. “And I, for one, wanna kill this evil son of a bitch.”

“Well, hell, you know I’m in.” Dean confirmed, as he shrugged a shoulder with a nod.

“Me too.” You piped up, earning yourself a lopsided smile from Dean. “First, I’m gonna go pee though.”

“Don’t go far, Y/N.” Dean grinned, you smirked back.

While you were off behind a bush a short distance away, you could hear Sam and Dean explaining the history of wendigos to Hailey and Ben. Telling them the legends about tribesmen who’d turned to cannibalism during harsh winters. How if you ate enough human flesh, over enough years that you became something less than human. Hailey asked how they could be killed, and Dean answered, noting that guns and knives were useless.

You got back to camp in time to see Dean finish his spiel; There was only one surefire way to kill a wendigo: Toast ‘em.

Dean had managed to craft a makeshift Molotov cocktail. You smiled, Dean had always been really smart when it came to that sort of thing. He was the best at taking whatever supplies were around and turning them into different tools and weapons. You thought about how people tended to think of Sam as the smart one, but Dean was just as smart as he was. It just showed in different ways.

“Well, if we’re gonna do this, let’s get it going.” You smiled.

Sam was at the front as you all left camp, Hailey and Ben in the middle, you and Dean keeping back a bit. Sam was leading you down a slightly worn path, every few feet you saw a tree with bloody claw marks, confirming that you were headed in the right direction. You had a nagging sensation that you were missing something, but you couldn’t pinpoint what, so you chose to ignore it. You’d been walking in a comfortable silence when you noticed Dean stealing glances at your boots. You caught his eye, and raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll buy you new ones.” He motioned to the carnage that you were calling your boots. You laughed, not believing your ears.

“You’re still thinking about that?” You smirked, it was kind of sweet. “I was joking Dean. I mean, I do need to grab some new ones, but I’m not upset.”

“I know.” He replied, lopsided smile flashing at you, your heart stuttered. “I still want to buy you new ones.”

You were about to answer him when you noticed Sam stop abruptly.

“Guys!” Sam called, and the two of you jogged up to see what he was pointing out. He was looking up at the trees when you caught up, and you followed his gaze. Deep, bloody, gashes were clawed into the trees all around you. Well that seemed ominous.

“You know,” Sam grimaced, frustration at himself seeping into his voice, as he stepped in between you and Dean. “I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct? They were almost too easy to follow.”

He was right, you realized, as soon as the words had left his mouth. That was what had been nagging at you, that feeling that something was wrong, that it was too easy. You swung around, looking hard at the woods around you, holding your breath, listening intently. Sam and Dean were doing the same, when the roars began to ring out.

“Fuck!” You exclaimed, as you made out the edges of a form rushing past in the trees, moving too quickly for your eyes to keep up with. No one responded, you all kept watching, waiting for it to make a move. Suddenly Hailey was screaming, and you saw her dive out of the way as a body fell from the tree above her, smashing into the ground. It was Roy, and he was clearly dead.

“Dude, his neck’s broken.” Dean told Sam, as you heard a growl from the woods. “Okay, run, run, run, go!”

Dean was pushing everyone to run in front of him, and you took off. Your feet pounded into the ground, and you ran alongside Sam, breath coming in short gasps as your lungs worked to keep up with your body’s demand for oxygen. You saw Ben slip at the same time Sam did, and the two of you turned back, and grabbed him, picking him up and shoving him into a run. You looked over your shoulder, wondering if the wendigo was behind you, or if it was herding you somewhere?

Your question was answered when Hailey let out a bloodcurdling scream, you pushed yourself harder, running up the small hill that was blocking her and Dean from view. You sucked in air when you crested, and didn’t see them. Panic was welling rapidly up in you; they should be there. Sam was breathing hard, and he reached down and picked up the broken pieces of the Molotov cocktail Dean had been holding.

Your heart sunk as you looked around wildly for him, the thing had broken Roy’s neck. What would it do to Dean? The sound of your own heart beating rapidly in your chest was drowning everything else out. You couldn’t breathe, couldn’t calm yourself down enough to think. You felt tears stinging your eyes as every possible worst-case-scenario ran through your mind.

You sucked in air, feeling like a fish out of water. Dean couldn’t be dead, you told yourself, he couldn’t. The thing would keep him alive. Because it _fucking_ had to. It had to. You vaguely heard Sam yelling for Dean, but you were too wrapped up in your own dread to pay attention. You tried to hold it in, you really did, and for the most part, you managed. You kept the scream you desperately wanted to let out inside your head, but the tears, well, a few of those escaped.

Sam brought you back to the present, shaking you harshly, and your eyes flashed up to his. You could see his mouth moving, but the sound was still muffled. You forced yourself to breathe evenly and to pay attention to what he was saying.

“Shhh. It’s okay. He’s okay.” He was soothing you, and you nodded. Of course he was, he would be fine. You played those words over and over like a mantra until you had calmed enough to focus on something other than Sam rubbing your arms, trying to keep you from giving in to the terror you were feeling.

“I know.” You mumbled thickly, and Sam gave you a half-hearted smile as he used his sleeve to wipe your face dry.

“You had some dirt.” He commented in a see-through attempt to save your pride. You smirked, now that you were calmer.

Ben was standing stock still to your left, staring at you with huge eyes and you sighed, your little freak out over Dean probably hadn’t exactly been reassuring.

“They’re okay.” You repeated to him. “It keeps its victims alive.”

The three of you had walked for a few minutes in a loose circle around where Dean and Hailey had been taken before Ben finally responded to what you’d said.

“If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?” Ben asked, concern filling his face as he glanced from you to Sam.

“Honestly, I think because Roy shot at it and it pissed it off.” Sam theorized.

Ben stopped, and bent over. You peered over his shoulder to see what he’d found, it was a fucking M&M. _God damn it, Dean Winchester, this is why I fucking love you,_ you thought fervently.

“They went this way!” Ben called to Sam, excited to finally find a clue. He held the M&M out for Sam to see.

“Just like fucking Hansel and Gretel.” You cheered. “Dean left us a god damn trail straight to the son of a bitch.”

“Well, it’s better than bread crumbs.” Sam conceded, and you nodded, smiling widely. It meant Dean was definitely alive, because he was dropping the candies. You finally felt some of the panic receding. The three of you followed the trail of candy, Sam taking point, you pulling up the rear. Finally, you came to the entrance of an abandoned mine. A sign was hung on the door warning people to keep out due to extremely toxic material. _Great_. A few of the boards had been pried away, leaving an entrance wide enough to get through easily.

Sam looked into the dark, then glanced back at you and Ben. He shrugged a shoulder, then disappeared into the mine.

Ben paused for a moment just outside of the entrance, looking back at you. You could see the fear in his eyes, but also the determination to find his siblings. He turned and went inside.

You didn’t even hesitate, you just walked straight in, either you were all going to die together, or you were gonna kick this thing in the ass. You were hoping for the latter, though. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, even with the light from your flashlight cutting through it.

You walked beside Sam, Ben just a little behind you. Whatever was coming, you wanted yourself between him and it. That was your job; keeping him alive, and killing this thing.

As you walked further down into the mine, the light from the entrance faded behind you. Sam heard it first, and he tugged you and Ben into an offshoot of the mine. You could hear its heavy breathing, and the fall of its footsteps on the ground. You held your breath, waiting for it to pass. You watched the wendigo stomp slowly past you, making its way out through the mouth the of the mine.

It was almost gone when Ben let out a whimper. Sam grabbed him covering his mouth and quietly shushing him. You bit your lip as you stared at its retreating back. You sighed quietly in relief when it climbed out of the tunnel.

You motioned to Sam, letting him know it was gone, and he released his grip on Ben’s mouth. Ben panted, trying to catch his breath, and three of you crept out into the main tunnel, following it down deeper underground. You glanced down when you heard the track beneath you creaking. Your eyes flew up to Sam’s just as the beams beneath Ben’s feet snapped, and he fell through. You barely had time to suck in a surprised breath before the one’s beneath you and Sam gave out too.

The ground below rushed up to meet you, and you slammed into it, feet first. You landed on the balls of your feet, knees slightly bent, letting it absorb most of the impact, before you rolled to your side, arms up to shield your head. You lay there for a moment, catching the breath that had been knocked out of you, adrenaline spiking. You were straining to hear any sign that the wendigo had heard the commotion.

The only thing you heard were some grunts coming from Sam and Ben. Then as you sat up, Ben realized he was laying on a pile of bones, and let out a yelp, scrambling backwards. Sam reached out and grabbed him, stopping Ben from taking off.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Sam assured him quickly, and Ben struggled to breathe normally. “It’s ok, it’s ok.”

You all paused, sitting up, listening carefully again, did it hear you? You could hear creaking overhead, and you all held a breath, for a second, looking around. You heard a grunt behind you, and you darted toward it. His face was covered in blood, hands strung up above his head, but Dean was alive.

“Dean!” You whispered, reaching up to touch his face. “Dean?”

His eyelids fluttered open, and he stared at you dazed for a moment, trying to focus on you. You ran your hands down his neck, over his chest, quickly checking for any injuries. He seemed to be in one piece more or less, and you felt some of the tension you’d been carrying evaporate.

Next to you Ben was trying to wake his sister up, and you glanced over long enough to see that she was alive as well. Sam was standing beside you, and Dean grunted.

“Dean, you okay?” He questioned, concerned.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded, eyes scrunched shut, grimacing.

You fumbled in the pocket of your jeans for your knife so you could cut him down. Sam held him up while you cut him free, supporting him down into a sitting position. You left Sam with Dean, and moved to cut Hailey down. Ben had managed to wake her, and once you cut the restraints, he helped her sit down too. Dean was groaning painfully as Sam moved him, but he insisted he was fine when Sam asked again.

“Yeah, yeah.” He grunted. “Where is it?”

“It’s gone for now.” Sam replied.

“Probably out looking for _our_ asses.” You piped up, crouching beside them, glad to see Dean was more alert. His eyes met yours, this time without the glossy, dazed, glint in them, and you felt a smile cross your face.

“Don’t scare me like that you big jerk.” You chided, smacking his arm. He let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-grunt, and you laughed in response.

Hailey gasped and start to cry as she stood, your eyes flew over to what she was looking at. She started to walk over to one of the bodies that was still suspended. Your mood instantly sobered, realizing it must have been her brother. You tossed Sam your knife as he moved to follow her over, and you lowered yourself down next to Dean, arm against his. This wasn’t the result any of you were hoping for.

Hailey reached out, crying, to touch her brother’s body, whispering his name sadly. She cupped his face, and he let out a loud gasp, his head flying up. Hailey screamed, and threw herself backwards, almost crashing into Sam, before moving back to hold him up.

“Cut him down!” She demanded.

Sam rushed to comply. You raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at Dean. _What the hell,_ you thought, you’d been positive that guy was dead as a door-nail. Then again, you’d been so busy making sure Dean was okay, and calming your own fears, that you’d barely noticed Tommy. You were still watching Hailey, Tommy and Ben hugging, smiling at each other, when Dean leaned over to peer into a duffle bag lying near him.

“Check this out!” He announced, standing up and revealing two flare guns proudly.

“Flare guns.” Sam acknowledged, grinning at Dean. “Those’ll work.”

Dean smirked, then spun the flare guns in his hand cowboy style, and you flashed him a grin too. There was something incredibly sexy about Dean Winchester handling weapons, and you would probably never be sick of seeing him show off with them.

You, Sam and Dean started to lead Hailey, Tommy and Ben out of the mine. Hailey was supporting Tommy, helping him walk. Sam and Dean were at the front, each with a flare gun in their hand, and you were at the back, keeping an eye out behind you. Unlike Sam & Dean, you didn’t really have an effective weapon, so Dean had insisted you take the rear.

You hadn’t gotten far when the growl echoed through the caverns. You grimaced, checking over your shoulder to see that the others had stopped.

“Looks like someone’s home for supper.” Dean muttered.

“We’ll never outrun it.” Hailey exclaimed.

Sam and Dean looked at each other and you could see them working out their next move. When Sam and Dean both cut their eyes to you, and back to each other, you knew you weren’t going to like what they were about to say. You felt your stomach sink, and steeled yourself for whatever it was.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dean asked Sam.

“Yeah, I think so.” Sam nodded.

“Anyone wanna share with the class?” You demanded, impatient as you waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Alright, listen to me,” Dean said, avoiding your eyes. “Stay with Sam, he’s gonna get you out of here.”

You were shaking your head before he finished talking, and his eyes finally fell to yours.

“No.” You blurted. “I can’t.”

Dean walked over and grabbed your shoulders, staring down at you. You felt sick, he wanted you to just leave him in here, alone with no backup. Sam could handle getting the family out. You weren’t going to go, no way.

“You have to, Y/N.” Dean encouraged roughly. “You know you do. You don’t have a weapon that can stop this thing. There’s nothing you can do, except listen to me, and get them the hell out of here. Because let me be perfectly clear on this; If you don’t go with Sam, and we make it out of here alive, the first thing I’m gonna do is put you on a bus to Sioux Falls.”

You felt yourself deflate, he was right, and he knew it; you knew it. Didn’t make it any easier though; letting him take all the risk on alone. He could tell he’d gotten through to you when you looked at the floor. His hand slipped up to grab your chin, tilting it up so that you were looking at him again, and for one wild moment, you’d actually thought he was going to kiss you. Instead, his face lit up with that familiar smirk of his.

“I’ll be fine, Y/N.” He told you softly, so sure of himself that you had to believe him.

“Okay.” You agreed.

Sam cleared his throat, and Dean’s hand fell from your chin. You flushed, pink under his stare, he’d already seen you break down once over Dean, and here you were on the verge of another one. If he hadn’t remembered your confession all those years ago, he sure would now. _Ugh_.

Dean nodded to Sam, and ran around the corner. You took a deep breath and made yourself adjust your concentration to the task of getting these people out of the mine safely.

“It’s chow time you freaky bastard!” You heard Dean yell, as he jogged away from the rest of you to draw the wendigo off. “Yeah, that’s right. Bring it on baby! I taste good!”

You rolled your eyes a little at his choice of words, but found yourself smiling despite the shitty situation. Sam scouted ahead with the gun as you heard Dean’s yells growing fainter.

“Alright. Come on! Hurry.” He commanded, and the three of them followed him, as he led them forward, flare gun drawn. You looked after them, then after Dean trying and forced yourself to follow Sam. Until you got them out, anyway.

Before long, you were all approaching the entrance, it was just up ahead around the corner in the distance. You could see the light from it was filtering through. Sam glared down at you, as a growl erupted somewhere behind him.

“Get ‘em out of here.” He told you harshly.

“Sam, no!” You exclaimed. Hailey was sobbing behind you. “I’m not leaving both of you in here. I’ll get them to the damn entrance and then I’m coming back for fuck’s sake.”

“Go!” He yelled, and you flinched, flying into action, turning to usher them out of the mine. Hailey and Tommy were the slowest. You reached over to help support him so they could move faster. When you pushed them through the entry way, you told them to run, and not to stop until they got to the cars. You didn’t have to tell them twice.

You heard the loud bang of Sam’s flare gun being fired, and your feet dug into the ground as you sped back down the path. You ran around the corner smack into Sam who shoved you into a side tunnel, and pulled you into a run. The wendigo had been in the tunnel on the other side, and it lept out at the two of you, chasing you.

“Balls!” You yelled, gasping for air as Sam tugged you along. You could hear the wendigo growling behind you, and the sound sent shards of fear tinkling down your back. You flew around another corner, and skidded to a stop, it was a dead end.

Sam turned and pushed you behind him, holding his arms out, his body shielding you. You grabbed onto the back of his coat, a lump forming in your throat. Was this really how you were going to die? Stuck in a shitty mine, after watching your friend die, not knowing if the man you’d loved for most of your life was alive or already dead? _Go big or go home_ , you guessed.

It felt surreal as you watched the wendigo stalk closer. You weren’t even that afraid, more incredulous, at this twist of fate. It let out a loud growl, head thrown back, and you felt Sam breathing hard. You closed your eyes and leaned your forehead against his back, your own breathing coming in gasps. You couldn’t watch this.

“Hey!” Dean yelled, and your eyes flew open at the sound. You peaked around Sam, and saw the monster look over its shoulder at Dean. As soon as it turned to face him, Dean fired a flare straight into its chest, lighting it up. The thing screamed as fire licked up its torso, and head, the flames bursting out; swallowing it whole. Sam still had his arms out protectively, and you still had his coat bunched in your hands as you watched the wendigo collapse with a last, quivering squeal.

“Not bad, hunh?” Dean asked, cocking his head proudly to the side.

You shook your head, grinning over at him. You gave Sam a quick hug from behind, silently thanking him for basically taking it upon himself to be your human shield and he laughed, his arms dropping down to cover yours.

You kept your eyes on Dean though, and he shrugged a shoulder at you, a strange look you couldn’t place was plastered to his face. Somewhere between angry and sad. You felt something catch in your chest as you wondered if he was honestly going to insist on sending you packing. Technically, you’d done what he’d asked. You’d gotten Hailey, Tommy and Ben out, _and_ you’d gone with Sam. He hadn’t _really_ specified that you were to stick with the siblings.

You squeezed Sam again before letting him go.

“Come on boys, let’s get the hell out of here.” You requested. “I need a bath, and some wine, and a whole lot of carbs.”


	10. Chapter 10

You stood by the ambulance watching them work on stabilizing Tommy. You’d all made it back down to the ranger station, and Ben, along with Sam was filling the rangers in on the ‘giant grizzly’ you’d encountered.

“Is he gonna be okay?” You asked the paramedic. She nodded to you, and told you he’d be fine; They were getting ready to transport him. She wandered off to get Hailey, and you followed her path with your eyes. Dean was flirting with Hailey, that much was obvious, from the smirk on his face, and the way she was standing, you’d hazard a guess that she was playfully reciprocating.

When she leaned in to kiss him, you looked away, eyes cutting back to Tommy resting on the gurney. You looked back up as Hailey was walking past you with Ben, and you stepped back from the ambulance as they climbed in.

“Thanks, Y/N.” She smiled. You smiled back at her, it wasn’t her fault Dean was oblivious to your feelings. Honestly, it wasn’t even his fault either. The only blame here, was your own. You turned as the medics closed the doors, and walked over to Sam and Dean. They were staring at the little family inside the ambulance as it pulled away behind you.

“Man, I hate camping.” Dean commented.

“Me too.” Sam confirmed.

“Guess that makes three of us.” You chimed in, sidling up next to Dean.

“Sam, you know we’re gonna find dad right?” Dean asked, not looking at either of you.

“Yeah, but in the mean time…” He trailed off, with a small smile. “I’m driving.”

Dean nodded and tossed him the keys. Sam caught them, and you looked up excited.

“Shotgun!” You yelled.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean exclaimed, laughing.

“Fine.” You giggled. “You can have the front. But only because, if you’ll recall, a certain hunter promised to take me shoe shopping.”

“Hey.” Dean argued, still grinning. “That was heat of the moment, thought we were gonna die stuff. It’s not legally binding. Right Sammy?”

“Hey, don’t drag me into your little lover’s spat.” Sam said, holding his hands up, eyes twinkling mischievously.

You shot him a dirty look, and he laughed. Dean noticed and grinned too.

“The lady really wants her shoes.” He joked, mistaking the motive for your glare, and you smiled.

“Well, of course. I am out one pair of cool high-tops, and one pair of ridiculously expensive boots. All I have left is gym sneakers, and the only things I own that go with them, are sweat pants and t-shirts. So if we’re planning to crime solve at all, then I’m probably going to need some respectable footwear.” You chattered, trying to cover how uncomfortable Sam’s comment had made you with mindless blathering.

“Alright, fine. I guess you earned ‘em.” Dean gave in. Your brows shot up, and you looked at him surprised.

“Did I just dream that you told me, in a non life-or-death situation, that you were going to take me shopping, or did it really just happen. Cause I’m leaning towards column A.” You quipped.

“Dream about me a lot, hunh?” Dean bantered, and somehow, you kept the blush off your face, because damn if you didn’t.

“Oh, all the time. Your pretty face is basically all I think about.” You answered, with a touch of sarcasm, to cover up the truth in your statement.

Dean chuckled and Sam shook his head with a small grin. You shrugged your tense shoulders, and looked at the crowd of first responders dissipating around you.

“Well, ladies, whaddya say we get this show on the road?” You drawled.

The three of you climbed in, and you had to laugh at the expression on Dean’s face as Sam revved the engine before taking off. You settled down into your seat, and finally let yourself relax fully, eyes closing.


End file.
